All posts by Troy DuFrene

Prison Chaplaincy Book Event

On Friday, August 2, at 5:40 p.m. in the zendo (the time of our usual First Friday talk), we will have a special presentation and book signing event with Buddhist teacher, scholar, and writer Cuong Lu. His book The Buddha in Jail is a collection of 52 vignettes—stories and teachings about Cuong Lu’s six years as a prison chaplain. Cuong discovered that when the men inside allowed themselves to feel their pain—including remorse from committing crimes—knowing and feeling the truth became a source of strength for them. And when the inmates felt listened to, understood, and not judged, it transformed their sense of who they are, and as a result changed their attitudes and their behavior.

This book is not just about the prisoners. It’s about all of us. We’re each caught in distorted and limiting ideas of ourselves. We don’t believe freedom and happiness are attainable. But when we come to believe in ourselves, we discover the freedom and happiness already within.

Cuong Lu will give a short presentation, answer questions, and be available to sign books. If you would like to preorder a book, email Laurie at lauriesenauke@sonic.net.

Nominations for the BZC Board

Every year the sangha elects three of six members-at-large to two-year terms to the BZC Board. Board members may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. Elections take place in October and the new term starts in January 2020. The Board will present its three nominees at the all-sangha potluck on Tuesday evening, September 24.

This year the BZC Board is pleased to announce that three current at-large Board members will be running for second terms.  They are: Rondi Saslow, Gary Artim, and Tom Painter.

Other nominations can be made by sangha members at the all-sangha potluck from the floor. Some of the various skills the board seeks in nominees (not all in one person) are: oral and written communication, organization, information technology, money management, fundraising, engineering, building mainte­nance, and nonprofit law. Nominees should be members of BZC. Board members attend ten Sunday morning meetings a year and an all-day retreat in the first part of the year, and serve on at least one of the working Board committees: Finance, Buildings & Grounds, Development, Electronic Communication & Social Media, Archive, and Elections & Nominations.

If you are interested in serving on the Board, or know someone who you would like to nominate, please contact a member of the Elections and Nominations Committee: Ed Herzog (edherzog@comcast.net), Carol Paul (carolpaul@yahoo.com), or Rondi Saslow (rsaslow@pacbell.net). Please include any relevant information about why you think the person would be a good BZC Board member.

Mountains and Rivers Sesshin

Signups for BZC’s annual Mountains & Rivers Sesshin are live and we’re looking for partici­pants. The sesshin, led by Andrea Ryushin Thach, will take place Thursday, August 1, through Sunday, August 4. A mandatory orientation meeting will be held the preceding Tuesday (July 30) and payments, signups, and cancellations are all due by July 20.

The sesshin will take place at Point Reyes Coast Camp and will include alternate routes to the campsite to accommodate varying needs. The format follows BZC sesshin forms to the extent possible, including long periods of silence, sitting zazen, shared responsibilities and sesshin positions. If you are new to backpacking or to sesshins, please speak with the director, Kelsey Hermann. People new to zazen are encouraged to attend a Saturday morning at BZC to get a feel for our forms.

This sesshin is a wonderful way to connect with other practitioners and experience practice in the wilderness. If you or someone you know is interested in attending, please fill out an application at the following link: http://bit.ly/2JVZimG. You may also email the director at backpacksesshin@gmail.com. We hope to see many old and new faces there!

One-Day Sesshin

Sojun Roshi will lead a one-day sesshin on Saturday, August 3, from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. We encourage old and new sangha members to participate. Please sign up on the patio bulletin board by Wednesday morning, July 31, after zazen. If this is your first sesshin at BZC, we recommend that you first participate in a full Saturday program and also speak with the sesshin director. The fee is $35 per day and should be paid in advance (a discounted fee is possible for those in need; please speak to the director). Leave checks marked “August 2019 sesshin” in the mail slot in the courtyard laundry room door or mail to the BZC Office Manager at 1931 Russell St., Berkeley, CA 94703.

Those attending for the first time will need to fill out a Sesshin Information Form to let us know of health problems, food allergies, or physical issues requiring accommodation. Please request this form by contacting the sesshin director, Gary Artim, at SesshinDirectorBZC@gmail.com.

Lay Entrustment

On Monday, July 22, beginning at 5:40 a.m., Sojun Roshi will confer Lay Entrustment on Seishi Tetsudo Ross Blum and Sentei Kokyo Susan Marvin. The ceremony will include informal dharma inquiry with Ross and Susan, and a celebratory reception in the community room will follow.

[This ceremony, originally announced for May 6, has been rescheduled to the above date.]

Thousand Hands History Project

The Board has set a $20,000 fundraising goal this year to cover the initial costs of preserving an archival record of BZC teaching legacy and history. Many of you recently received a letter detailing this exciting project.

We are taking on the task of making this legacy widely available: digitized, indexed, searchable, and archived so that it may encourage and enlighten future Zen students. The first step is digitizing more than 2000 of Sojun Roshi’s talks (and the BZC talks of other teachers) at an estimated cost of $26,000. We invite your contributions and participation.

Sojun’s Birthday Party

On Saturday, July 20, we’re having a party to celebrate Sojun’s 90th birthday!
The party will begin at 11:30 a.m. (right after the lecture), with food, live music, and a few offerings of appreciation and humorous reminiscing about our beloved abbot.
BZC will provide main dishes, birthday cake, and beverages. If you would like to bring a signature side dish to round out the offering, please contact Maria Winston (mariawinston@ yahoo.com) or Laurie Senauke (lauriesenauke@ sonic.net).
Note that we will not be having the usual early program that Saturday—rather, we’ll start with work period at 8:30. (There will, however, be informal zazen at 6:00 a.m.)

The party will also feature exhibits at various locations around BZC representing aspects of the Thousand Hands History Project.

We will also be offering an all-new, long-sleeved BZC logo T-shirt and everyone’s favorite BZC aprons (see illustrations in our previous newsletter) for $25 each. If you would like to preorder a T-shirt and/or an apron, please contact Laurie Senauke for details.

Satipattanasutta/Foundations of Mindfulness, Class

Mindfulness is all the rage. Beyond the world of Buddhist centers and retreats, mindfulness is being taught today in schools, corporations, prisons, and even the military—often emphasizing relaxation and “being in the present.” But the Buddha’s presentation of the SatipattanaSutta/ The Foundations of Mindfulness, points to deeper dimensions of practice and liberation.

This Spring Hozan Sensei with lead a class on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, drawing from the SatipattanaSutta, on ThichNhat Hanh’s Transformation and Healing, and other Buddhist-centered commentary. The class will be held on five consecutive Thursday evenings – March 28 to April 25th – at 7:15 pm, probably in the Community Room. The fee is $50 with discounts available as needed. A sign-up will be posted soon on the patio bulletin board.

Sojun Roshi’s Koan Class

Sojun Roshi will be teaching a four class series on two koans from The Book of Serenity beginning Monday 2/4. We’ll meet from 7:15-8:45 p.m. each Monday in February. Class material and sign-up is now on the patio shelf for our first two classes .
We’ll be studying # 32 first, Yangshan’s (Kyozan’s) Mind and Environment. The third and fourth weeks will be #62, Mi Hu’s ( Beiko’s) Enlightenment or Not?  Both Yangshan and Mi Hu were students of Guishan (Isan) in the 9th century. All three were part of the Igyo school of Zen which developed from Yangshan’s style and died out after five generations.
The Book of Serenity format is in three sections. The first is the koan or case which is usually a brief recorded verbal exchange between teacher and student. One hundred of these cases were chosen by Hongzhi (Tiantong) in the 12th century, who then composed a verse to accompany each one. In the 13th century Wansong comes along and adds commentary to both the case and verse which now becomes the Book of Serenity (Wansong’s temple name). In this way we get the insight of three outstanding teachers on one subject over the course of 500 years. Imagine back to Columbus for that time span. Do you have a month available?

An Invitation to Cooking Practice at BZC

One day Wuzhao was working as tenzo at a monastery in the Wutai Mountains. When the Bodhisattva Manjusri suddenly appeared above the pot where he was cooking, Wuzhao beat him. Later he said, “Even if Shakyamuni were to appear above the pot, I would beat him, too!”
—Kosho Uchiyama, How to Cook Your Life
Sounds like fun, right?! Working in the kitchen is an important part of our practice at BZC, and the good news is that this practice opportunity is open to everyone. Anyone coming to BZC, whether you are brand new or have been coming for years, is warmly welcomed to join us for work in the kitchen.
There is a kitchen sign up on the porch bulletin board. Almost every Saturday, there are spaces for assistant cooks. You don’t need experience to sign up to help during any Saturday breakfast. Just add your name to an open assistant-cook slot and join the head cook at 6:00 am on the date you choose. Help and guidance will be cheerfully offered!
But in order to beat metaphysical apparitions with a spoon, you’ll need to be trained to be a head cook. This training, too, is open to all. If you’re interested, please email the tenzo (our head head cook) at troydufrene@gmail.com. Training to be a head breakfast cook takes two Saturdays: on the first, you’ll assist the tenzo (or, maybe, a former tenzo) in preparing a menu of his or her choice. On the second Saturday, he or she will assist you to prepare a menu of your choice. After that, you’re invited to sign up as a head cook when you can. Those who are trained Saturday cooks can also check in with the tenzo about progressing to becoming sesshin cooks. Just think of all the Bodhisattvas you might get to beat during a sixteen-hour day!
We look forward to seeing you in the kitchen soon!